Thinkpads Forum

Dear All,

Congratulations to everyone in this forum - extremely good help and a supportive atmosphere - I've got so much out of my 600x thanks to you all!

I have some questions about some planned upgrades. I know alot of these have been covered in other threads but there are things I'm still unclear about even having read the upgrade sticky and other posts. Apologies to those who find this boring or frustrating!

1.) I have a 600x Model: 2645-5EG, which according to the Lenovo website is PIII 500MHz (256KB). I can't find any details as to whether this is the infamous "SpeedStep" model or not. I gather this is very important when upgrading the CPU.
2.) Can anybody recommend a CPU that would work with 600x 2645-5EG? I'm looking for some extra speed etc but with the minimum amount of installation, which brings me to my next question,
3.) Is replacing the CPU as simple as installing the latest BIOS, then opening up my beloved 600x and pulling out the CPU and clicking in the new one? OR is there other installations, hackings and (ek) soldering - all of which I think is somewhat out of my league.
4.) Is there a post or website with pictures and instructions about opening up the 600x or is everyone doing it from the service manual (I'm fairly comfortable opening up laptops).
5.) I have a spare CPU lying around that I salvaged from an old computer. Is it compatible with my laptop?SL4CG (Intel Pentium III). And will it make a noticable difference to performance?
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SL4CG.html
6.) Is the CPU upgrade worth it? Or am I better off just whacking my RAM to the max (I'm running 327 at the moment) for better performance.

Ok sorry for so many questions! I have completed a few upgrades (DVD drive, RAM, Hard Drive) and will be posting my results on the correct threads!

Thanks again in advance for any help people can provide,
Manners

Hello,

I have to skip some questions, since I cannot help there...

3.) Is replacing the CPU as simple as installing the latest BIOS, then opening up my beloved 600x and pulling out the CPU and clicking in the new one? OR is there other installations, hackings and (ek) soldering - all of which I think is somewhat out of my league.

Technically, everything can be done with a screwdriver. I had to deal with some rather persistent screws, though. Also, with several 600x CPU changes it has happened to me that I did not click the new CPU in exactly right - everything looked fine superficially, the screws went back fine, but the screen remained black on startup. Now I remove the modem cable before putting the CPU back in. The manual does not state this as a requirement, but it is a bit in the way, and it is easier to get a proper seating for the CPU without the cable.

The fan module is fixed to the CPU with one of those sticky thermal pads. As you will have to pull the two apart, the pad might get damaged, so you might want to have a spare at hand.

4.) Is there a post or website with pictures and instructions about opening up the 600x or is everyone doing it from the service manual (I'm fairly comfortable opening up laptops).

I used the manual, and I think it provided sufficient information for this.

5.) I have a spare CPU lying around that I salvaged from an old computer. Is it compatible with my laptop?SL4CG (Intel Pentium III). And will it make a noticable difference to performance?
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SL4CG.html

The 600x uses an MMC2-CPU-module, which means that the CPU comes with a small "system-board" of its own. I am not even sure the CPU can be removed from that board - I bought my replacement CPU as a complete MMC2-module. The 850MHz P3 is generally said to be the fastest CPU the 600x can handle, and it is the fastest one availabe in the MMC2 form factor.

6.) Is the CPU upgrade worth it? Or am I better off just whacking my RAM to the max (I'm running 327 at the moment) for better performance.

Hehe, do both, of course. I guess it depends on the speed you need, the speed of the new CPU and the price you pay for it... You won't get the performance of a modern notebook, no matter what you do, but the more the better.

Björn

Great help Bjorn - thats given me a lot to be going with - hopefully some others can fill in the gaps!

Mannersxxx wrote:1.) I have a 600x Model: 2645-5EG, which according to the Lenovo website is PIII 500MHz (256KB). I can't find any details as to whether this is the infamous "SpeedStep" model or not. I gather this is very important when upgrading the CPU.

Your PIII 500MHz CPU is not a SpeedStep CPU. Generally, if your 600X did not come with a SpeedStep CPU, then it does not have the necessary components on the motherboard to support SpeedStep. There are a couple conflicting stories about this, and as a result, no definitive list of which models support SpeedStep is available. My guess is that your model does not support SpeedStep. As a result, if you put a SpeedStep CPU in your machine, it will run at 150MHz below its maximum speed, unless you peform some kind of hardware mod or are lucky. I see that you are running Windows 2000 SP4. At least one person has been able to get a SpeedStep CPU to run at maximum speed in a non-SpeedStep machine when running Windows 2000 without requiring a hardware mod, but the details of how/why this happens are not clear to me.

Mannersxxx wrote:2.) Can anybody recommend a CPU that would work with 600x 2645-5EG? I'm looking for some extra speed etc but with the minimum amount of installation[...]

Any PIII MMC-2 CPU should work fine. As Grey Area pointed out, the maximum speed for these CPUs is PIII 850MHz. You cannot replace the CPU that is on the MMC-2 board. The board and CPU are soldered together. When you replace the CPU, you actually replace the whole MMC-2 board with the CPU on it. All Intel PIII CPUs in the MMC-2 form factor that are faster than 500MHz will be SpeedStep CPUs. Therefore, you will want to get a CPU that is at least PIII 750MHz to see any appreciable increase in speed (it will run at 600MHz in your machine).

Phil.

A few more notes on this...

1.) I have a 600x Model: 2645-5EG, which according to the Lenovo website is PIII 500MHz (256KB). I can't find any details as to whether this is the infamous "SpeedStep" model or not. I gather this is very important when upgrading the CPU.

Just confirming this definitely is not a speedstep. More info (not serial # specific): http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Mobile_Pentium_III

Someone mentioned it will run at its lowest speedstep speed; there are ways around this though, if you are willing to solder. This link has info about fixing speedstep through soldering a resistor, as well as overclocking via the same means: http://www.xabk.co.uk/


I was wrong about everything else about the processor, nevermind.

spikex34 wrote:I ordered a PIII 850Mhz that I'm going to put in when I get back home in 2 weeks; I'll let you know how it goes. I don't think we can post direct eBay links but you can find the same thing I got by searching "New Intel Pentium 3 III 256KB 850Mhz SL53L"; it was $9.99 pre-shipping.

I sure wish you the best in making this work, but I'm afraid it may not be easy, as that CPU is not part of an MMC2-module. The 850-P3 on MMC2 tends to go for a premium, and I doubt people would pay these prices if they could replace the CPU itself easily.

Björn

Hey!

Guys this a another option you for you and the difference in the performance will be very BIG.

Grey Area wrote: I sure wish you the best in making this work, but I'm afraid it may not be easy, as that CPU is not part of an MMC2-module. The 850-P3 on MMC2 tends to go for a premium, and I doubt people would pay these prices if they could replace the CPU itself easily.
Björn

[censored].... yeah, you're right. Wow these things are ridiculous on eBay... like $150 for BuyItNow. Thank you for the heads up. I don't know what I'll do with that useless p3 chip now..

If you are running planning on using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can use a Speedstep PIII. Windows 2000 and XP have the software already in the OS to use that feature, even if the BIOS doesn't support it. Alphakilo470 was able to use a 800Mhz PIII in a 600E at full speed running 2000.

Hmmmmm thanks for the input. Not sure thats right though. Been messaging and reading up a lot on this one and it seems that there's a chance that my 600x running 2000 could run a new chip faster but although Speedstep is supported by XP and 2000 from what I've read you have to mod the bios, solder the chip etc to get a non-speedstep machine to run the higher speed.

What I'm concluding though is that this is a difficult one to pin down -everyone is experiencing different things. Theres a chance putting a 650 speedstep chip in my 600x will get a better speed but then again there's larger chance it won't.

Well I tried it! Put in a 650mhz speedstep cpu and sure enough my 600x didn't run it at speed. In fact with my original 500 I was getting a speed averaging 489.2 with the 650 in there it averaged about 489. So that's another we can add to the list without doubt!

Gonna look into the Speedstep processor mod but I don't have a solderer and think its probably out of my league. Oh well at least my mind is at rest now. Going to max out my RAM instead.

One thing I will say about opening up the old 600x is that the design and stength of build goes right to the core. Everything I came across was solid and well put together.

OH YEAH - forgot to say when I put my old processor back in and rebooted - I got BLACK SCREEN but remembered reading somehwhere that you must make sure the processor is fully pressed down and clipped onto the motherboard - sure enough that was it. Someone else said in these forums try testing without putting all the screws back in - couldn't agree more after hours of screwing and unscrewing (o-er) I added on at least 30mins to working time and my fingertips are killing me.

Really good to know. The solder itself is just one resistor; the hard part is that you have to be extremely precise, else you could of course short circuit something important. People have posted hints on how to do this somewhere on the forums.

Hey

I was under the impression that the PII needs the resistor soldered in to run the PIII at full speed, and that with the 600x you could just swap out the CPU with a higher one (like the 750 i got off ebay for 45 dollars!) after you run the new bios in it of course.

The website from the UK that has all the mods so Nicely typed out, illistrated, and explained refers to the 600E, the overclocking and speedstep mods are the same for the 600X as they are for the 600E???

So to run the 750 CPU in my 600X I need to update to the latest Bios, AND the resistor soldered in?

I can solder quite well, Thank the good Lord the Military taught me SOMETHING that carries over to the real world! Acctually, they taught me quite a bit! How to live off a small income, how to do nothing and look busy, that "It isn't illegal UNLESS you get caught" how to wait forever for nothing, READ the fine print and get it in writing, but mainly that when thier shaking your hand and giving you an award, look for the dagger at your back! Sorry for the rant...

If any could clarify the 600X issue i'd appreciate it!